Special tripartite on MH370 next week

A two-day special tripartite meeting on Malaysia Airlines MH370 will be convened here, beginning Monday, to deliberate on the next course of action for the vanished jetliner.

Transport Deputy Minister Datuk Ab Aziz Kaprawi told Bernama here today that the highly anticipated meeting would also look in detail, other crucial issues, including the recent discovery of several debris and inputs from aviation experts.

The meeting, involving high-level officials from Australia, China and Malaysia is expected to take place at the transport ministry in Putrajaya.

"Top in the agenda of the meeting is on the future direction of the search operation for MH370.

"Only high ranking officials will attend the meeting. Malaysia will be represented by Department of Civil Aviation Director-General Datuk Seri Azharuddin Abdul Rahman," said Ab Aziz.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) which leads the search in the Indian Ocean, is expected to complete the designated 120,000 sq km of the sea, by month-end.

The Beijing-bound MH370 aircraft with 239 passengers and crew on board disappeared from civilian radar screens on March 8, 2014, about an hour into the scheduled six-hour flight.

Its flight path was believed to have ended in the southern Indian Ocean.